WRITING REPORTS

Rules and the duty of the expert

When writing reports, I consider the issue of the expert witness role in the country guidance case of MOJ & Ors (Return to Mogadishu) Somalia CG [2014] UKUT 00442 (IAC). I also note paragraphs 48-60 of ‘Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims, which instructs litigants, those instructing experts and experts to understand best practice in complying with Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and court orders.

I raise all matters which I consider professionally relevant. I understand that my duty is to give an independent assessment uninfluenced by the Appellant or his legal advisors.

Topics & dealing with instruction

Examples of topics

The following titles are examples of many reports which have been previously prepared. Reports are well structured and use sufficient written and visual sources.

 

Iran and Iranian Kurdistan
  • Iran’s healthcare and mental health
  • The COVID-19 pandemic
  • Women in Iran
  • Social media activism
  • The political situation in Iran
  • Dual nationalities returning to Iran
  • Kolbering or working in cross-border trade in Iranian Kurdistan
  • Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iranian -KDPI
  • Kurdistan Democratic Party – KDP
  • The Komala Party
  • PZAK Party
  • The Baha’i faith
  • The Guardian Corps of the Islamic Revolution (Pasdaran); the Basij force
  •  
  • ID or other documents authentication
  • language analysis or nationality assessment.
 
Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan:
  • Iraq’s healthcare
  • The COVID-19 pandemic
  • The security situation in the ‘contested areas’
  • the economic and political situation in Iraq and KRI
  • ISIS in Iraq & Post-ISIS Mosul
  • the (de)Baathification
  • the opposition in Iraq and IKR
  • Family feuds and eloping
  • Tribes and their political and economic powers
  • Land ownership dispute

 

Dealing with instructions

Solicitors’ instructions contain different questions based on a client’s case. Sufficient time is spent on each question. The following are some common aspects of reports that help write an excellent report based on the legal requirements and instructions for experts.

  • The plausibility of an account in general.
  • The consistency of an account with the country information.
  • Illegal exit from the country of origin
  • Providing an assessment of risk on return, including at the hands of the authorities on arrival, as a result of his anti-regime posts on social media. Explaining the possibility of social media accounts to be checked on arrival.
  • The possibility of relocation to another part of Iran to mitigate any risk to a client.
  • The possibility of accessing effective State protection in Iran.
  • The availability of adequate state protection
  • Highlighting any other issues that I deem relevant to the case after analysing a client’s case and relevant documents.

Examples of reports (for 2019 and 2020):

Iran-

Iran’s healthcare and mental health; The COVID-19 pandemic; Women in Iran; Social media activism; Dual nationalities returning to Iran; Kolbering or cross-border trade; Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan-DPIK; The Baha’i faith; The Komala Party; The Guardian Corps of the Islamic Revolution (Pasdaran); ID or other documents authentication; language analysis or nationality assessment.

Iraq-

Iraq’s healthcare; The COVID-19 pandemic; The security situation in the ‘contested areas’; the economic and political situation in Iraq and KRI; ISIS in Iraq; Post-ISIS Mosul; the (de)Baathification; the opposition in Iraq and IKR; Family feuds and eloping; Tribes and their political and economic power; Land ownership dispute.